Akito Sohma
- Past Design = }} |-| Anime = - 2001 Anime = }} |kanji = 草摩 慊人 |romaji = Sōma Akito |aka = A-chan (by Saki) |gender = Female''Fruits Basket Manga'' — Vol. 17 Chapter 97, Akito is revealed to be in fact female. Male (2001 Anime) |age = 20s |height = 164 cm / 5'5" |weight = 43 kg / 94.8 lbs |hair color = Black |eye color = Purple (2019 Anime, Manga) Grey (2001 Anime) |blood type = AB |cursed year = God |year = Horse |astrological sign = Cancer |occupation = Head of the Sohma Family |affiliation = Sohma Family |parents = Akira Sohma (Father) Ren Sohma (Mother) |spouse = Shigure Sohma (Husband) |children = Shiki Sohma (Son) |extended family = Shigure's Parents (Parents-in-laws) |manga = Chapter 2 |anime = Episode 8 (2001) Episode 7 (2019) |japanese = Murasaki Wakaba (2001) Yuka Imai (Young, 2001) Maaya Sakamoto (2019) |english = Chad Cline (2001) Aaron Dismuke (2001, Young) Colleen Clinkenbeard (2019) Trina Nishimura (2019, Young) }} is the main antagonist of the Fruits Basket series. She is the only daughter of Akira and Ren Sohma. Akito is the head of the Sohma family, and fulfills the role of a "God" of the Chinese Zodiac. Akito is depicted as short-tempered and abusive, and has physically and emotionally scarred many Sohmas. On the other side, Akito herself is a victim, as Ren forced her to live as a male because she was afraid Akito would replace her in Akira's heart. Akira, in an attempt to give Akito solace, unintentionally brainwashed her into thinking that she was "special" and would be loved by the Zodiacs no matter what she did. Despite holding utter hatred towards Tohru Honda for "breaking apart her bonds with the Zodiacs", Akito comes to realize that by holding onto the bond, she has hurt herself as much as the others and lets it go with Tohru's efforts to break the curse. In the end, when Akito's antagonism ceases, the curse is broken, and she begins dressing and living as a woman, Shigure Sohma, whom she is in love with, moves in with her. In Fruits Basket Another, she is married to Shigure and the mother of Shiki Sohma. Appearance Akito is a tall, fair-skinned young woman with a very androgynous appearance. For the majority of the series, Akito is seen to have short, nape length hair and long, messy bangs framing her face. To cover up her female body figure, Akito usually dresses in many layers or male clothing; sometimes normal or oversized. In the Sohma House, she usually wears robes worn by men. According to Shigure, if Akito had been raised as a woman, she would look exactly like her mother, Ren. She shares the same black hair-color and brown eye-color as her mother, as well as the feminine features, though Akito manages to hide them well. By the end of the series, she grows her hair to shoulder-length and starts to wear traditional and normal feminine clothing, as a sign of her being finally able to live her life as a woman. In a Fruits Basket Another cameo, it is implied that she ultimately settled on wearing dresses while cutting her hair short again. Personality Akito is the God of the zodiac. Akito, for most of the story, is emotionally abusive and cruel to many of The Chinese Zodiac, as she is the God. She has hurt most of the Zodiac members in some way that resulted in them ending their relationships with other members of her family. In addition to her family, she had even hurt Tohru for interfering with her family's curse. She rarely shows any sympathy and is extremely misogynistic, showing little to no trust or respect for other women. This is evident through her behavior towards Kana, Kisa, Tohru, Rin, and her mother, Ren. Early in the story, she appeared rather composed on the surface, but she is actually quite emotionally unstable. Additionally, she made a deal with Kyo Sohma, the cat. They agreed that if Kyo were to defeat his rival Yuki Sohma, the rat, by the time he graduated high school; he would not be forced to live in an isolated house like the cats before him. However, if he was never able to defeat Yuki, Kyo would be sent to the isolated house. Because of her meddling in the Sohma's lifestyle, she grew loathsome around Tohru Honda until near the end of the manga. However, Akito is actually extremely insecure, mostly because she's afraid that everyone around her will leave her. In order to make sure that doesn't happen, she ensures that none of the Zodiac members find love, even if they're in the Zodiac or Sohma family, and none of them are free from the curse. Kureno, the only Zodiac member whose curse was broken before Tohru was introduced, did stay with her out of sympathy for her. Ren's biting words and treatment towards her really had a strong impact on her mind when she was a child, and it can be seen that even as an adult, Akito is still intimidated by her words. Throughout the course of the series, Akito has injured most of the main characters. Her motive behind this was to keep the Zodiac members bound to her. Whenever one of the Zodiac members defied her or fell in love with someone, she would harm them and/or their loved ones in some way. History Early Life Akito was born as the only child to the head of the Sohma family, Akira Sohma, and a maid in the Main House, Ren Sohma. Upon discovering her child would be female, Ren demanded that Akito to be raised male out of fear that a female child would steal her place in Akira's heart. She threatened to abort the child unless her demands were met. After Akito's birth, in compliance with Ren's demands, she was presented as a male, with only the four eldest of the cursed Sohmas, Hatori Sohma, Shigure Sohma, Ayame Sohma, and Kureno Sohma, knowing her true gender due to a dream they had on the night she was conceived. Despite Ren's poisoning her with hatred and insecurity, Akito was very close to her father. He would always share his words of wisdom with Akito, and convinced her that being born as the Zodiac of God meant that she was special, and she had to live up to the role. He also told her that no matter what, she would be loved by everyone as long she had the bonds that connected her to the cursed Sohmas. Sometime in Akito's childhood, Akira's illness took a turn for the worst. On his death-bed, Akira tried to comfort the young Akito via telling her not to be afraid, adding that he would always be with her, even if she couldn't physically see him. Akira went onto confess that he had wanted Ren to be the happiest over Akito, because Akito was a "special existence," and therefore she and Ren were special. Akito also got to hear Akira's absolute last words, in which he lamented that he and Ren never reconciled their differences. After he passed away, when Ren found out that no one had come to get her when Akira had been dying, she yelled at the young Akito that she was an unwanted existence, and that she had only been a little toy to amuse Akira; Ren also added that, because Akira was dead, no one had any more need of her. Akito countered these statements, telling her hysterical mother that her father had loved her; but because of Akira's parting words, even Akito herself doubted that Akira had loved her the most, fearing that she had "lost" to Ren. One of the elderly maids, wanting to comfort Akito, proceeded to give her an empty box, claiming that Akira's spirit was inside it, and that she had wanted only Akito to receive such a special gift. All of her life, Akito kept this box hidden away in her room; she told Kureno that part of her didn't believe that anything was inside of the box, yet another part always hoped that maybe there was. After her father's early death, Akito became the head of the Sohma family (raised to appear and act as a male), in addition to her role as God of the Zodiac animals. Various flashbacks reveal that Akito was very kind and gentle as a child. Then one day Akito snapped due to Ren's abuse, painted her walls black, and tortured Yuki physically and psychologically from then on. It all went downhill from there. Kureno's Curse Broken Pre-Fruits Basket After Yuki left the Main House to live with Shigure, Ren commented that the cursed Sohmas were abandoning Akito, just as Ren always predicted they would. Akito denied this and claimed they would all come back to her because of their inseparable Zodiac bonds. She and Ren made a dare in which Akito was to allow the cursed Sohmas to form bonds with "outsiders" to test whether they would return to Akito's side. If they did not return, Akito would have to bow before Ren and then leave the Sohma family. Discovering Yuki's Friends Erasing Kana's Memories Hurting Kisa Story Overview Fruits Basket First Year Arc It was soon after this bet was made that Shigure approached Akito about allowing Tohru to stay in his home. Akito, confident that she would win against Ren, consented to this. Since Akito believed that the world was a cruel, bleak place in which unconditional love did not exist outside of the Zodiac bonds, she also believed that Tohru would eventually end up rejecting the cursed Sohmas, causing them to return brokenhearted to her side. When Tohru leaves the Sohmas' main house after her first visit to there, Akito is seen gloomily staring out of a window at Tohru. Tohru spotted her and got frightened by the gloomy hated aura from Akito. Second Year Arc Akito is then next seen 'visiting' the school Tohru, Kyo, Yuki, Hatsuharu Sohma and Momiji Sohma are attending. Akito had intended to 'check' on Tohru to see how she was doing. However, due to sheer coincidence, Tohru spots Akito and, without knowing a thing, approaches Akito. Upon introducing herself properly, Akito pretends to be pleased about Tohru, praising her on being cute and kind. Yuki comes to rescue Tohru, only to find himself being intimidated by Akito's menacing words about her horrific treatment to Yuki in the past. Tohru, however, manages to break off the contact between the two by pushing Akito aside. Akito was seen leaving the school, entering a car to be ferried back. In the car sat Shigure, where Akito speaks ill of Tohru, contradicting her "praises" earlier on. Akito was manipulated into joining the Sohmas having a vacation at the summer house by Shigure. She brings along Kureno. She arrives at the summer house, uninvited and a bombshell to the Sohmas that were present. She instantly summons all the cursed Sohmas (except Kyo) to visit her, telling them that she "loves you all" and "misses you". She lets them go before the night ended. The next day, she met Yuki when he was taking a walk. She was seen talking to Yuki about something that shocked him and made him "run away". She later attempts to meet Tohru but she ended up 'giving up' as she felt 'sick and hot' and unable to comprehend Tohru playing with the "monster" (Kyo). She had a conversation with Kureno, even commenting that Kureno was "inferior" to her. Next, she summons Haru, purposely insulting him with the phrase "big, dumb ox" and saying she doesn't want Tohru to meet Kureno. Following Haru's summon came Kyo's. There it was revealed on Akito's true intention on Kyo and how she forced Kyo to understand his feelings for Tohru. It was also revealed that Kyo would be confined for the rest of his life if he does not beat Yuki in a fight, a bet met between Akito and him. Before being sent home because of Ren, she forcefully meets Tohru, successful the second time, where she tells Tohru to leave the cursed Sohmas alone, staying out of the curse, and revealing that she is the "master of all their souls" or God-like and scratches Tohru's face. Akito confirms that Kureno is the Bird/Rooster of the Zodiac and not her. She later is believed to have traveled home, as she had met Tohru to see her before leaving. Third Year Arc It is eventually revealed that Akito had always been lonely and afraid of change. The reason that she clung so desperately to the Juunishi bonds was that she feared that, without them, she would be all alone, and her existence meaningless, just as her mother had always claimed. This revelation occurred after both Momiji's and Hiro's curses broke, and also followed Momiji confronting Akito on such a fact. With the bonds falling apart, Akito—after having wrongfully stabbed Kureno in the back when he tried to calm her down—ran away from the Sohma estate, wondering if everything really was all her fault, and why her world was collapsing so suddenly. Desperate and looking for someone to blame, Akito suddenly realizes that the Juunishi had been slowly but surely leaving ever since Tohru had appeared in their lives... Akito then walks to Shigure's home and finds Tohru alone outside. Unbeknownst to her, Tohru is not exactly in the best emotional state after her last talk with Kyo, where he explained to her how her mother died and the part he had on it, before she told him like she loved him sand being refused by him over his guilt. Akito then comments that Tohru must be happy, because she had "won" and had, in the process, destroyed the only life she had known. Akito then threatens Tohru with a knife; but Tohru, realising how both she and Akito had been trying to hold onto an "unchanging" reality (Akito clinging to the eternal bonds of the Zodiac; Tohru wanting her mother to always be first in her heart), told Akito that she understood how scary it is to be alone, and instead offered her hand in friendship, even introducing herself as if they had never met before. Akito extended her hand, seemingly to accept the offer, but right before she could the unstable cliff ground collapsed and Tohru fell (in the first volume of the series, just after a landslide destroyed Tohru's tent, Shigure warned her that the ground around the area was unstable and due to collapse again one day). At the sight of her newfound friend falling to what could be her death, rather than gloating or anything similar, Akito screamed to get help for Tohru, ultimately collapsing in tears in Shigure's arms. When the hospitalized Tohru recovered at the hospital and was finally allowed visitors beyond her immediate family, Akito was surprisingly one of the first to visit (and even more surprisingly, according to Hatori and Shigure, she went alone and entirely on her own accord). Fearful that she would be rejected by Tohru and Kureno (both of whom she'd hurt, emotionally and physically), Akito was told a comforting story by Momiji, who also offered advice that made it possible for Akito to see Tohru and Kureno for who they really are: People whose kindness for others overrides their ability to be concerned about themselves. With that in mind, she finally went to see Tohru, who offered her hand (despite the fact her arm is injured) to Akito in friendship again, which she accepted with a small smile. Akito also visited Kureno in the hospital, whom she had stabbed in the back''Fruits Basket Manga: Vol 20, Chapter 118; Kureno, however, didn't blame Akito for her actions, and forgave her when Akito cried and apologized to him repeatedly for smothering him all of the years she'd kept him close. From there on out, Akito decided to try to change rather than cling to being "God," and to the memory of her father and what he had wanted her to be.Fruits Basket Manga: Vol 23, Chapter 132 Epilogue Towards the end of the manga, after Kureno left to live in the country with Arisa Uotani, a close friend of Tohru's, and the curse was broken, Akito and Shigure finally confessed their true feelings for each other and reconciled. Akito begins living and dressing as a woman, and in her last meeting with all the formerly cursed Sohmas, she wore a furisode (female kimono), and donned a flower in her hair, something that shocked the younger Sohmas, who had just learned of Akito's true gender. Ritsu even was comically shocked over it. In her very last apparition, Akito was with Shigure. She had let her hair grow a little past her shoulders, and wore a dress. The Three Musketeers Arc Fruits Basket Another Eventually, Akito married Shigure, having one son named Shiki Sohma between them. Since she is working on changing the Sohma family and its old traditions as the Head of the family, it is stated that Akito is not home at much and therefore not able to spend much time with her family. In the past, during the Sohma's New Year's Eve celebration, Mutsuki Sohma recalls how Akito's mother, Ren, attempted to kill Shiki by stabbing him with a knife. Akito protected her son and took the blow in his stead. It is seen that Akito was bleeding, and Shiki was sad and clung to his mother.Fruits Basket Another: Vol 2, Bonus Manga 2 Differences from the source material The God of the Zodiac Akito is possessed of the Zodiac's God-Spirit, forcing all the cursed Sohmas have to obey her every word, no matter what. Trivia *According to an interview with Natsuki Takaya, Akito was enrolled in "better" and "more expensive" schools than everyone else in the Zodiac, though she completed all of her schooling (including high school) by correspondence. *When asked in an interview, Natsuki Takaya said she had always planned on Akito being a female. *According to an author's note, Takaya designed Akito and Ren to resemble each other. *According to Takaya, Akito regularly holds small tea parties with Saki Hanajima and Mine Kuramae.Natsuki Takaya's Tweet This could also explain why their sons are so close as they are. *Akito also likes the foreign cuisine made by Rio Mosca's father. *In the 2001 anime, it also expressed he fears of dying young, which never occurred in the manga. He falls sickly often and is constantly told by Hatori Sohma that he is to remain in her bed. Many see this particular incarnation of Akito as fearful and strong, but he is actually a scared figurehead that can't do anything but hurt and command others. es:Akito Sohma fr:Akito Soma Category:Characters Category:Fruits Basket Characters Category:Fruits Basket: The Three Musketeers Arc Characters Category:Sohma Family Category:Cursed Sohmas Category:Female Category:Article stubs